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Mr. Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said Cambodia considers a set up of a Thai naval base in Trat province as a violation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries in 2000 as well as a security threat to Cambodia.

Mr. Phay Siphan's reactions came after reports that the Thai Navy ordered the deployments of several naval ships to patrol in the so-called "overlapping claim areas" in protest against Cambodian oil explorations in the areas.

He said: "This is a show of militatry threats which affect the security of the kingdom of Cambodia. The second issue is that the use of a military force in order to negotiate the border issues or to protect the waters in the Khmer-Thai Gulf is not in line with the Memorandum of Understanding that we have signed in 2000."

The Thai embassy in Phnom Penh cannot be reached for comments, but a Thai naval officer quoted by Bangkok Post said Thailand had deployed several naval ships in the areas to prevent the French company Total from conducting any oil explorations in the areas.

According to Bangkok Post, Thailand considers Cambodia's granting of exploration rights to Total as a political strategy to get France to help it resolve its maritime borders with Thailand. A Thai official noted that France had helped Cambodia win the Preah Vihear case in the International Court in 1962.

Mr. Phay Siphan said Cambodia will send a diplomatic note to Thailand in protest of the deployments of those Thai warships in the so-called "overlapping claim areas" which Cambodia considers as locating in Cambodia's territorial waters.

It is not sure if those Thai warships are able to prevent the exploration works of the French-Cambodian team.

Source: Radio Free Asia
Reported in English by Khmerization